Why do Asians really get straight A's? - Project Gutenberg Consortia ...

13
There's no place like home— actually, there is, or rather, there are: Beverly Hills, San Jose, La
Jolla, just to name a few, but it's still good to be back in Irvine. My parents planned for us to
stay at Uncle and Oldest Auntie's until the weekend, but they had to rush back to work,
Jordan had to rush back to study— the nerd that she is— and I had to rush back— against my
own accord— to prepare for “ every pre-med student's worst nightmare ” , the MCAT. The
MCAT, Medical College Admission Test, is a standardized examination, also known as the
“ test of death ” for those who put their entire life's meaning into it; if you're a pre-med student,
it will make or break you. And if it breaks you, then you're...broken? Alright, maybe it's not the
end of the world, but if you have Asian parents, it's pretty much the end, unless you settle for
being a lawyer. Now I have nothing against lawyers, but all Asian parents know that it's
second to being a doctor. Anyway, preparing for the MCAT isn't as easy as just cramming the
day before. In fact, you'll have to prepare as early as freshman year, by maintaining an
exceedingly high GPA. If I have any hope of getting into a good medical school, I'll pretty
much have to get above a 3.8, which— don't tell my parents— I don't have, with only a 3.7. The
MCAT itself is a grueling day-long examination that covers physics, chemistry, biology, as well
as reading and writing comprehension. I really have to do well on my MCAT to even have a
chance of getting into medical school. And if I don't do well...I don't even want to think about it.
Now that I'm back, I have to make a few calls. But whom should I call first? — my
incorrigible best friend Gabriel or my soon-to-be hot girlfriend Emilie? As the judiciously wise
Michael Scott, from the American TV series The Office, once said: "Bros before hoes." But
then again, Gabriel can wait, since he doesn't exactly have the nicest @ss and sexiest pair of
legs like Emilie.
I'm so nervous that I drop my cordless phone on the kitchen floor, right as I'm dialing
Emilie's number. What do I have to be so nervous about? I like her and she likes me— at least
I hope she still does. Gabriel's right— I really need help with my social life.
I decide to go to the refrigerator to get a drink of distilled water, to soothe my parched